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Section15-I
The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992

Power to adjudicate

In force From 30 Jan 1992 Act 15 of 1992 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 15 of 1992 Ministry Finance Enacted 04 Apr 1992 In force 30 Jan 1992

Section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 deals with power to adjudicate. For the purpose of adjudging under sections 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, [15EA,15EB,] 15F, 15G, [15H, 15HA and 15HB] the Board [may] appoint any officer not below the rank of a Division Chief to be an adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry in the prescribed manner after giving any person concerned The Act came into force on 30 Jan 1992.

1[15-I. Power to adjudicate.-- (1) For the purpose of adjudging under sections 15A, 15B, 15C, 15D, 15E, 2[15EA,15EB,] 15F, 15G, 3[15H, 15HA and 15HB] the Board 4[may] appoint any officer not below the rank of a Division Chief to be an adjudicating officer for holding an inquiry in the prescribed manner after giving any person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard for the purpose of imposing any penalty.

(2) While holding an inquiry the adjudicating officer shall have power to summon and enforce the attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case to give evidence or to produce any document which in the opinion of the adjudicating officer, may be useful for or relevant to the subject matter of the inquiry and if, on such inquiry, he is satisfied that the person has failed to comply with the provisions of any of the sections specified in sub-section (1), he may impose such penalty as he thinks fit in accordance with the provisions of any of those sections.

5[(3) The Board may call for and examine the record of any proceedings under this section and if it considers that the order passed by the adjudicating officer is erroneous to the extent it is not in the interests of the securities market, it may, after making or causing to be made such inquiry as it deems necessary, pass an order enhancing the quantum of penalty, if the circumstances of the case so justify:

Provided that no such order shall be passed unless the person concerned has been given an opportunity of being heard in the matter:

Provided further that nothing contained in this sub-section shall be applicable after an expiry of a period of three months from the date of the order passed by the adjudicating officer or disposal of the appeal under section 15T, whichever is earlier.]]

Section 15-I, The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (Act 15 of 1992).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 15A Penalty for failure to furnish information, return, etc
  2. s. 15B Penalty for failure by any person to enter into agreement with clients
  3. s. 15C Penalty for failure to redress investors‟ grievances
  4. s. 15D Penalty for certain defaults in case of mutual funds
  5. s. 15E Penalty for failure to observe rules and regulations by an asset management company
  6. s. 15T Appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. SEBI (Chairman) v. Roofit Industries Ltd.

    Supreme Court of India 26 Nov 2015 Binding (Supreme Court) Reportable Civil Appeal Nos.1364-1365 of 2005 & connected (SC); REPORTABLE Judgment 26.11.2015; Vikramajit Sen & Shiva Kirti Singh JJ.

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    REPORTABLE Judgment 26.11.2015 (order-7.pdf; Vikramajit Sen & Shiva Kirti Singh JJ.; body ends "NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 26, 2015" matching order index Judgment of Main Case 2015-11-26; DATE note: MCP may auto-flag embedded 2002 summons/exhibit dates inside the narrative — disregarded, same pattern as wave401 NSDL). Held: Adjudicating Officer appointed under Section 15-I; while adjudging quantum under s.15-I the officer must have due regard only to the factors named in s.15J ("namely" is exhaustive, not "including"). SAT wrongly reduced s.15A penalties on impecuniosity — a factor outside s.15J. For pre-29.10.2002 failure complete on 16.9.2002, pre-amendment s.15A penalty (max Rs 1.5 lakh) applied; SAT set aside; appeals allowed. Core teaching lock for s.15-I adjudication power and its interface with ss.15A/15J (later 15J reading partially refined in Bhavesh Pabari, already mapped for other sections).

    On this section: s.15-I Power to adjudicate — AO appointed under s.15-I conducts enquiry and imposes penalties; quantum while adjudging under 15-I is controlled by the named s.15J factors, not extraneous grounds such as inability to pay.

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Questions about Section 15-I

What have the courts held on Section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act?

SEBI (Chairman) v. Roofit Industries Ltd. (26 Nov 2015) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.15-I Power to adjudicate — AO appointed under s.15-I conducts enquiry and imposes penalties; quantum while adjudging under 15-I is controlled by the named s.15J factors, not extraneous grounds such as inability to pay.

How do I find court cases under Section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Sebi Act 15-I, section 15-I Sebi Act, section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with SEBI (Chairman) v. Roofit Industries Ltd. (26 Nov 2015).

What should I read with Section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 15A (Penalty for failure to furnish information, return, etc), section 15B (Penalty for failure by any person to enter into agreement with clients), section 15C (Penalty for failure to redress investors‟ grievances), section 15D (Penalty for certain defaults in case of mutual funds), and on 2 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own.

When did Section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act come into force?

Section 15-I of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, cited as Sebi Act 15-I, came into force on 30 Jan 1992, having been enacted on 04 Apr 1992. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.